twich12

ok so i have a 4870 and have been looking around for an aftermarket AIR cooler for it... ive found a lot of stuff about which cooler is the best and i keep getting threads that are a few years old... anyone know which is the best gpu cooler? i dont want it to take up more than 3 pci slots (for hs+card, 2 just for hs) and i would like it to be compatible with a 5870 (if possible) all suggestions are welcomed, and if you are saying its the best gpu cooler i would like to see some proof, please

thanks for all of the help in advance!

ps i havent been able to find direct comparison between these but ive been looking at the ZEROtherm CoolMaxx 2000, the musashi (looks a little weak), and the zalman vf1000, comments?

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NZi

best T Rad-2
Second best HR-03gt
Third best Accelero Twin Turbo

If you can afford them the Thermalright coolers they are the best, but the artic-cooling ones are supper decent for there price. Pair any one of them up with a semi decent fan and they will cool awesomely.

OpTicaL

The best for 4870 would be the Scythe Musashi.

I would take NZi's opinion with a grain of salt as he's never used any of the coolers he's recommending nor does he own a 4870/4890.

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NZi

Sorry should of said in my post, I have personally used a 4850 and had both the HR-03gt and the Artic Cooling s1 Rev2 in my old gaming rig. The HR-03gt was the better out of the two (same fan aswell) and reviews put the T-Rad2 above the HR-03gt.

twich12

thanks but i have a 4870 so maybe thats what hes talking about... ya they are similar but the 4870 is a space heater lol would the trad2 be better than the musashi? i mean looks like it has more heat pipes, and like they are spread out better, i wish their was a direct comparison chart between all the newer gpu coolers, anyone have one? thatd b nice! Optical, nice hdd set up, im thinking two caviar blacks and then 1 possibly external hdd with all my info so if i have to reinstall windows i dont have to file transfer

right now im between the musashi and the trad2, if their are any ideas that are reasonable i may change my opinion lol i dont have time now but later ill probably research the two and anything else people throw down in this thread

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twich12

getting the trad2 because i finally found a couple reviews that showed the trad2 was a few degrees better during load (about 4c) and i can just throw any 92mm fans on it that i want, not that scythe fans are bad but i like having options... i may end up putting some scythe fans on it lol

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OpTicaL

Umm, the Musashi uses 100mm fans and they are swappable.

You can't keep the stock heatplate when using the trad2. The stock heatplate as been proven to be best at cooling the VRMs. Cooling your VRMs is as important as cooling your GPU.

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firestormcomputers

I had a 4870 with a Sapphire Aluminum Heatpipe cooler, and I was going to get the Scythe Musashi to get the most overclocking out of it (without liquid). So I would say the Musashi all the way, along with some nice thermal paste (AS5 or higher).

Also, most likely, any cooler that fits a 4870 will NOT work with a 5870.

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twich12

their arent that many 100mm fans on the market lol and i didnt know the trad2 wouldnt accept the stock heatplate.... ya i know the vrms basically NEED the stock heatplate (or a full coverage aftermarket heatsink) well now its definately musashi... i guess the few degrees on the gpu core wont mean anything if my vrms are 200c lol

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OpTicaL

There are few but few is all you need.

Scythe SY1025SLN12M 100mm Case Fan

42.69 CFM, I replaced the stock slim fans with two of these babies. Fan controller @ 100% when gaming and my rig still sounds like it's not on.....or maybe it's because my case is sound insulated

Yeah, here's a hands on example of what happens to your VRMs without the stock heat plate on (I was using the RAM sinks that came with the Musashi, has no effect on cooling whatsoever).

http://www.overclock.net/6372612-post1.html

132C

Thermalright makes aftermarket active cooling VRM coolers (VRM-R1 and R-2) but I don't see the need to spend more money when fresh thermal pads and stock heat plate does the job.

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